Spring is coming quickly and so too is the return of Sun Devil baseball. ASU will take the field under the direction of new coach Tracy Smith and in a new park at Phoenix Municipal Stadium Feb. 13, and it comes with a preseason ranking.
The Sun Devils are ranked as the preseason No. 24, according to D1Baseball.com. ASU finished last season with a 33-24 record and was eliminated by Sacramento State after going 0-2 in the postseason.
ASU's first opponent, Oklahoma State on Feb. 13-15, starts the season at the No. 12 spot. Defending national champion comes in at No. 1, followed by Florida, Virginia, UCLA and South Carolina to round out the top five.
Three Pac-12 teams start the season ranked: No. 4 UCLA, No. 22 Oregon and the No. 24 Sun Devils. Oregon State, which finished last season with a 44-12 record, was not ranked.
The Sun Devils return a strong core from last season, including a trio of preseason All-Americans: left-handers Brett Lilek and Ryan Kellogg and right-hander Ryan Burr. ASU is the only school to have three pitchers named preseason All-Americans.